Gingrich: life or death battle against O44?

14 March 2011 |permalink | email article

As the Republican presidential race slouches toward the starting gate Newt Gingrich is in a confessional mood. In a prevent defense he told the Christian Broadcasting Network that he was driven into serial adultery by working too hard and patriotism—a tough sell to voters.

Quick to pivot Gingrich sees the furor over Wisconsin’s new union law as a precursor to a bruising 2012 presidential campaign and that a “life or death” battle for the White House demands that conservative candidates present a unified front to beat President Obama.

Gingrich and the entire GOP field will have to join the battle over worker rights, igniting a national struggle over efforts by several budget-strapped states with Republican governors to rein in union power. Labor sees it as a series of union-busting tactics and will respond.

The first major test came a day after rookie Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed into law a bill to eliminate most bargaining for many state government workers. Up to 100,000 people protested at the Wisconsin state Capitol on Saturday and a Madison police spokesman said it could possibly top the size of protests there during the Vietnam War. 

Republicans have not carried Wisconsin for 24 years but they came close in the two elections before Obama crushed John McCain by 14 percentage points in 2008. Walker’s anti-union action has awakened the Democratic national base, raising the stakes for Gingrich and the Gang of No.

Quotable

“What I love about New Hampshire and what we have in common is our extreme love for liberty. You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord.” Rep. Michele Bachmann, the wannabee presidential candidate needs a crash refresher course in American history. In yet another gaffe, the Liberty Belle mistook New Hampshire for Massachusetts.

The ubiquitous Koch brothers: the Zeligs of questionable funding.  Crib Sheet, Henry Alford, New York Times

196